Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia this morning said that the PN’s financial situation had gone from precarious to stable, but insisted that sacrifices would still have to be made to ensure that payments were made on time.

Speaking in Balzan, Delia also said the PN would start giving an overview of its yearly finances, if anything as a sign of transparency towards all those who donated to the party.

Delia said the party had been undergoing restructuring. This did not meant that all debts had been paid but that these debts had been rescheduled over a longer period of time. “In order to do this a number of party clubs were placed in a trust to make good for payments that the party had to make. We did this to ensure that the party’s position went from precarious to stable. But we still have to make sacrifices to make punctual payments on the obligations we have.”

Delia said people often asked about the party’s financial situation, which largely remained a mystery. “Some information is commercially sensitive but we want to be able to give an overview our situation yearly. When people contribute and donate they have a right to see where and how the money is being spent.”

The PN leader said the party had initially hoped to collect €400,000 in last week’s fundraising marathon but managed to collect more than €620,000.

In an apparent dig at MPs who did not contribute to the marathon, Delia said: “Unfortunately we did not use all our resources. Not everyone worked to collect funds. In fact we probably used less than half of our resources. We have to find a way to bring everyone on board and take part.”

 The PN, he said, did not make money Labour style, by making arrangements, signing contracts and stealing public property.

 

Is the party united?

Turning to claims of a divided party, Delia said: “Every leadership election causes friction and things do not change overnight. There will always be some who take longer than others to come round. We accept this because this is not a totalitarian party. But ultimately we have to present ourselves with one voice. The party, the seats we have in Parliament, are now our own but belong to those tens of thousands who voted for us. You have a duty to see that those who represent you [in Parliament] convey your message as well, not just theirs.”

 

PN-PD split

Turning to the announcement that the PN had dismantled the PN-PD Forza Nazzjonali alliance, Delia said the PN had decided that it was not a party that followed, or one that was devoid of ideas.

“I had said in the summer that the PN had, somewhere along the way, stopped thinking. We do not have to be afraid, to follow and be reactive. We have to believe in ourselves and believe in what truly makes us the Nationalist Party. Let us not be ashamed of our past, of all that this party has done for this country. Let us be humble about our past mistakes and have the courage and confidence in what we can become for our country.”

Delia said the PN can be strong even in Opposition, and it can still bring positive change for people.

“Even in the country’s most difficult times we went to Parliament with solutions. Parliament is the place where we exercise our duties but the most important thing is our country,” he said, adding that there were around 100,000 who were struggling to make ends meet.

“We want to show that were are capable of designing and building a better country. We will start doing this in next year’s European Parliament elections. We want to show that we are capable of setting the country’s agenda, and ultimately win back people’s trust and respect.”

 

Deputy Leaders

Earlier, Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs David Agius said people had placed trust in the PN by donating such a sum during the marathon. In such terms the people had placed bigger trust in the PN than the PL, for the PN had raked in more money in donations, he argued.

Referring to the PN-PD split, Agius said the time of “confusion” had ended and “now we are all under one banner, the flag of the Nationalist Party. We want to lead our own agenda. We will cooperate with others on a case by case basis and show them respect.”

Deputy Leader for Party Affairs Robert Arrigo spoke of the trouble and obstacles the PN had found when collecting donations. “There is nothing to be ashamed of for collecting little amounts from so many people.”

Arrigo said there were thousands of people who approached the party with donations, including people who voted Labour in the last election.

Showering praise at leader Adrian Delia, Arrigo said the party was bigger than anyone and urged supporters to be loyal to the party, no matter who the leader was. “If there are some among you who are still skeptical about Delia do yourself a favour and come here and ask him, instead of putting up posts on Facebook. I did and I was happy with the replies, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be too.” 

 

Labour Party statement

In a statement the Labour Party said Adrian Delia wanted to change the country, which had registered an economic growth rate of 7.2%, had the second lowest unemployment rate in the EU and was second best EU performed when it came to job creation.

The PL said that first thing that Delia needed to fix was the confusion gripping his own party.

 

It said Delia had confirmed that his party was also experiencing confusion in its finances, with its leader now confirming that he had sold off party clubs, despite denying the fact some months ago.